Social media is full of people making wild statements about haircare. I am not one of those people. Here is some honest, no-nonsense hair advice.

If you sweat a lot, have an oily scalp, or have tried to stretch out the time between shampoos and your hair is just always too greasy for your liking, then believe me when I say you are not alone. Too many times I see people who have tried over and over again to “train” their hair to be less oily and they are wanting to know what they are doing wrong.

Girl, the answer is that you may just need to wash your hair more often.

I don’t care what kind of snake oil someone is trying to sell you. Your hair is dead. No amount of conditioner, hair oil, or taking a break from bleaching the sh\*t out of your hair is going to heal it. The focus needs to be on preventing the damage in the first place.

There are products that can mitigate the damage caused by hair coloring services. Bond builders can help the disulfide bonds broken during the lightening/coloring process. But this is an insurance policy, not a get out of jail free card. Care still has to be taken because even with the best products, your hair can still end up mush if you push it too far.

There is a lot of good quality products that can help it be more soft, shiny, and manageable. Finding what works for your hair is the most important part.

Once the damage has been done…you’re going to just have to wait it out. (As in- GROW IT OUT!)

Blow dry your hair? You need heat protectant

Straight or curl it? You need heat protectant

Out in the sun a lot? Yep, you need a heat protectant.

I cannot stress it enough, if your hair won’t grow past a certain length, I can almost guarantee it’s because your heat tools are too hot and your hair is breaking off before it gets any longer.

If they look like the one in the photo… they suck.

Coils, scrunchies, silk covered ones, something - ANYTHING is better than the death grip these have on your hair.

If you have a bunch of shorter hairs at the nape of your neck, it’s breakage from wearing your hair up. All the hair at your hairline is finer then the rest of your hair so it’s more prone to breaking, and those are the little hairs under the most tension when you have your hair up.

If your hair is broken on just one side then it could be from your purse strap or seatbelt.

But investing in some better hair ties should be on everyone’s New Year’s resolutions list.